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Obesity, Unhappiness, and The Challenge of Affluence : Theory and Evidence

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Author Info
Oswald, Andrew J (Department of Economics, University of Warwick)
Powdthavee, Nattavudh (Institute of Education, University of London)

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Abstract

Is affluence a good thing? The book The Challenge of Affluence by Avner Offer (2006) argues that economic prosperity weakens self-control and undermines human well-being. Consistent with a pessimistic view, we show that psychological distress has been rising through time in modern Great Britain. Taking over-eating as an example, our data reveal that half the British population view themselves as overweight, and that happiness and mental health are worse among fatter people in both Britain and Germany. A 10-point move up in body mass index (BMI) is associated in the cross-section with a drop in psychological health of approximately 0.3 GHQ points. Comparisons also matter. For a given level of BMI, we find that people who are educated or who have high income are more likely to view themselves as overweight. We discuss problems of inference and argue that longitudinal data on BMI are needed. We suggest a theory of imitation -- where utility depends on relative weight -- in which there can be obesity spirals after only small drops in the price of food.

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Paper provided by University of Warwick, Department of Economics in its series The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) with number 793.

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Length: 21 pages
Date of creation: 2007
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Handle: RePEc:wrk:warwec:793

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Keywords: Body mass index happiness mental health General Health Questionnaire GHQ scores BMI well-being obesity BHPS GSOEP imitation weight relative income comparisons

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Production
I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - General Welfare

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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Blanchflower, David G. & Oswald, Andrew J., 2007. "Is Well-being U-Shaped over the Life Cycle?," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 826, University of Warwick, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Richard A. Easterlin & Laura Angelescu, 2007. "Modern Economic Growth and Quality of Life: Cross Sectional and Time Series Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 2755, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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